To achieve a sufficient quality of coke, the coking coals are compacted by means of free-falling compacting rods in a form provided therefor, and then placed into the coke ovens in the shape of a compacted cake of coal. During the charging of the coke oven the compacting rods must be retained in their upper limits of travel so that the compacted cake of coal can be removed from the form. Until now, the retention of the raised stamping rods was accomplished by eccentrically journaled segment disks which are arrayed rotatably about a horizontal axle and lie against the compacting rods due to their own weight. By appropriate counterrotation of the shafts carrying the segment disks, the compacting rods are then released again, in order to be raised rhytmically and released for free fall by means of known devices. In the known compacting rod retainers, the transfer of the pressure force is effected by the line contact between the compacting rod which is usually equipped with a friction lining and the segment disks. The transferrable pressure force is thus limited, so that for ovens higher than 6 m, and the longer compacting rods necessitated thereby, the likewise higher weight of the compacting rods cannot be retained securely by the pressure force of the segment disks.